44:13 A carpenter takes measurements; 1
he marks out an outline of its form; 2
he scrapes 3 it with chisels,
and marks it with a compass.
He patterns it after the human form, 4
like a well-built human being,
and puts it in a shrine. 5
44:15 A man uses it to make a fire; 6
he takes some of it and warms himself.
Yes, he kindles a fire and bakes bread.
Then he makes a god and worships it;
he makes an idol and bows down to it. 7
1 tn Heb “stretches out a line” (ASV similar); NIV “measures with a line.”
2 tn Heb “he makes an outline with the [?].” The noun שֶׂרֶד (shered) occurs only here; it apparently refers to some type of tool or marker. Cf. KJV “with a line”; ASV “with a pencil”; NAB, NRSV “with a stylus”; NASB “with red chalk”; NIV “with a marker.”
3 tn Heb “works” (so NASB) or “fashions” (so NRSV); NIV “he roughs it out.”
4 tn Heb “he makes it like the pattern of a man”; NAB “like a man in appearance.”
5 tn Heb “like the glory of man to sit [in] a house”; NIV “that it may dwell in a shrine.”
6 tn Heb “and it becomes burning [i.e., firewood] for a man”; NAB “to serve man for fuel.”
7 tn Or perhaps, “them.”